The European Parliament (EP) will vote on the European Union’s (EU) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, aimed at addressing ethical issues. Photo: European Parliament

The European Parliament (EP) will vote on the European Union’s (EU) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act today.

The proposed legislation will aim to strengthen legislation on data quality, openness, human oversight and accountability. The world’s first major AI law aims to address ethical issues and implementation challenges in several sectors, including healthcare, education, finance and energy.

The question of how to deal with AI systems has been the subject of heated debate. The meteoric rise of generative AI applications such as ChatGPT and Midjourney has led to last-minute adjustments by EU lawmakers. Under the bill, high-risk tools will not be banned outright, but will be subject to stricter transparency procedures.

Expect members of the parliamentary committee to pass the agreement. A full parliamentary vote will then be scheduled for mid-June. Washington has most recently expressed its concern regarding AI. The expanded scope of the European law could increase transatlantic tensions over technology regulation. U.S. tech companies have notably criticized the EU’s Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, widely perceived as unfairly targeting American big tech. It is to be expected that U.S. tech companies will continue to push at every stage of the policymaking process with targeted suggestions.